Conference napalm::guitar

    Well, I know Eddie is Buck's favorite stringsmith, but you may find
    some folks that disagree with ya !  8^)
    
    I'll buy the CD (like always ..) hoping it will contain some `sleepers'
    like "Hot For Teacher" or "Girl Gone Bad".  But, as long as Sammy (Mr.
    Lovesong) Hagar is involved, I'm afraid we'll see more synth-oriented
    stuff.
    
    Scary

    
    	Hey Scarymon, I thought the synth orientation ("Why Can't This 
    	Be Love", etc) was EVH's doing?  Like he got a little bored 
    	with the guitar for a while or something.  Isn't EVH the key-
    	boardist?

	I heard 'Poundcake' for the first time yesterday, and now I'm
	waiting to find out what they used to make that neat chainsaw
	sound at the beginning :^}

Yep, Ed does the keys in VanHalen.  Sammy is actually a pretty accomplished
guitarist himself.

I'd be interested to hear the new album too, although I still like
Van Halen better than Van Hager.

Speaking of Buckley, I saw him last night at one of our gigs - I think 
he gained a few pounds...  :)

    I like the way Eddie uses the keyboards. 'Course I like the way he
    plays the geetar about a hundred times more! I really don't think the
    band has gotten any worse since David Lee Roth left (bad career move,
    Dave,IMO), I just think they sound (alot) different. 
    
                                 trickey
    
    

    It's all a matter of opinion for sure - I think Eddie is as hot as he
    ever was, but when you put it in the text of VanHagar, it loses a LOT
    of punch.  I've got an old MTV concert of the new line-up, and they
    sounded GREAT on the old VH songs.  Just like DLR did when I saw him
    doing old VH songs with Steve Via doing the guitar work.  Face it, the
    only way to get the old VH sound and attitude is with the old songs. 
    the new VH and DLR stuff is good, even real good at times, but NOTHING
    compares to pre-1984 stuff ...
    
    Scary

>    I really don't think the band has gotten any worse since David Lee Roth
>    left (bad career move, Dave,IMO), I just think they sound (alot)
>    different. 

    <flame on>

    I totally disagree with the assertion that leaving Van Halen was a bad
    career move for Roth.  As far as I can tell he's easily as popular as
    Van Hagar is now and is now able to do whatever kind of material he
    wants without any hassle.  He's also worked with progressive world
    class musicians as well.  Both Vai and Becker totally smoke EVH!

    <flame off>

    Now that doesn't mean I don't like both bands...

    I do think that Eddie has lost the fire in his playing that made the
    original band as popular as it was.  I just don't hear it now.  They
    play pop music, not hard rock like in the old days, the edge is gone. 
    I like a lot of it, but it's nothing like the old material.

    Greg

    Like many songwriting teams, DLR and EVH inspired each other.  They may
    not be up there with a Lennon-McCartney type team, but I think they
    need each other.  I don't think either of them is as "happening" as
    when they were together.  DLR may be working with "world class"
    musicians, but from what I hear, they can't write music like Eddie and
    Dave did.  Fretburners like Vai and Becker are great, but albums like
    "Passion and Warfare" leave me wanting.  Scales at warp speed do not
    have mass appeal.
    
    Mike

>    I don't think either of them is as "happening" as when they were
>    together.  
    
    I disagree.  I loved old VH and I love DLR's solo stuff!  I think that
    "Eat 'Em and Smile" and "Skyscraper" are easily as good (if not better)
    then any of the old VH material.  While I love the old VH albums, I
    think they're very inconsistant, with a lot of "filler" material in
    between some really outstanding songs.
    
    Now I would agree that VH's material has not been as happening since
    the VH/DLR split...
    
>    DLR may be working with "world class" musicians, but from what I hear,
>    they can't write music like Eddie and Dave did.  
    
    See above, I think that much of DLR's solo material is superior to his
    VH work.
    
>    Fretburners like Vai and Becker are great, but albums like "Passion and
>    Warfare" leave me wanting.  Scales at warp speed do not have mass
>    appeal.
 
    None of the stuff Vai (or Becker) played on DLR's albums is even
    remotely similar to "Passion and Warfare".  Have you heard either of
    the two albums he did with DLR?  His playing is tasty and fits very
    well into the context of the music!
    
    Greg    

    I've listened to both "Eat 'Em and Smile" and "Skyscraper".  I yawned
    thru both too...

    Eat em & smile rooolz.  Amazing playing by Vai!

    I'll have to say that I MUCH prefer what DLR is doing NOW than what
    Van Hagar is doing now.
    
    I haven't listened to the latest album much (yet), but "Eat Em" and
    "Skyscraper" struck me as being adventurous, ambitious, fresh, wild,
    fun, etc.   And I agree that Vai's work on those albums was a breath
    of fresh air in the guitar world - with the exception of Satriani,
    I thought rock guitar was going through a definite dull period.
    
    "90125" and "OU812" just didn't seem to have ANY of those qualities
    (to my ears).  Just not very ambitious - no "edge". 
    
    By the way, perhaps this is nit-picking but describing Vai as  "scales
    at warp speed" seems to very unfairly lump him in with a lot of other
    people.  You could make that accusation about Steve Morse and I'd be
    somewhat hard pressed to argue.  But I'd say that non-linear playing is
    one of the most distinctive parts of his style!
    
    Does anyone else have that impression?

    Geez man, I leave for a minute and I get six "trash Eddie" replies!
    Bad, bad noters! Play nice with Eddie! :^) No really, I know VH isn't
    the same as they used to be but I still like 'em. As for DLR, I
    listened to "Eat 'em and Smile" and stopped paying attention about
    two songs through (I think it was that "Shy boy" song or whatever,
    maybe I'm thinking of a different album). I think Vai is a really cool
    player, but I just didn't hear anything all that different. Oh wait, I did
    like "Damn Good".  
    Anyway, point is I think both EVH and DLR have gotten a little stale
    but Eddie's stuff still kicks butt over Dave's (IMO). :^)
    
                                    trickey(committed Van Halen junkie)
    
    ps. The new album is called "For Unlawful Carnal(sp?) Knowledge." Or 
        maybe I should have typed it:
                            For
                            Unlawful
                            Carnal
                            Knowledge
        Maybe that's how they meant it?! :^)
    

    I thought the talking guitar at the intro of Yankee Rose was cool.  I
    lost interest after that (and that's the first song too! ;-)).  At
    least DLR's sexual ego trip was somewhat tolerable with the great
    guitar playing while with Eddie.  With Vai playing, I became bored with
    the musical AND lyrical content.
    
    I liked a lot of songs on Vai's "Passion & Warfare", but even then some
    of the material I lost interest in.
    
    The bottomline is the music.  If they aren't enjoyable to listen
    to, they are just a clanging cymbal.  
    
    Mike

    -1:
    Yeah, I thought the talking guitar thing was cool too!
      Vai: "Waa-Wah!"
     Dave: "What?!"
      etc...
     OK so I like "Damn Good" *and* "Yankee Rose"... :^)
    
     
                                         trickey
    
      

    -1
    
    translation:
    
    Vai:  "David"
    Dave: "What?!"
    Vai:  "What's over there?"
    Dave: "Well, lemme roll up onto the sidewalk and take a look, yeah"
          "WOAH!"
    Vai:  "Woah!"
    Dave: "She's beautiful!"
    Vai:  "wolf whistel"
    Dave: "I'm talkin about a Yankee Rose"
    Vai:  "A-ha ha ha ha ha ha"
    Dave: "n she looks wild"
    Vai:  "wild?"
    Dave: "Wild!"
    Vai:  "wild!"
                

    Interesting:
    
    I always thought Vai's second line was "Where are we going?", but
    your's makes more sense although I don't hear it that way.
    
    Still, it's amazing how you can really understand that vast majority
    of the conversation.  Vai's guitar-talk is easier to understand than
    a LOT of singers these days!

    When I saw Vai with DLR a couple years ago, these guys carried on a
    conversation that way - it was great !
    
    Scary

    Not meaning to get away from the topic toooo much here, but DLR is
    comin' to town somtime in June I think(along with Cinderella[I think]
    and Extreme[I know]). I know one of Dave's new guitarists is Jason
    Becker, but who's the other one?
    
                                       trickey  :^{)   <-it's a moustache!
    

    the guitarist on tour is not Jason Becker as he has some crippling
    disease,the 2 guys are David (or Derek)St.something or other and the
    other guy,I don't know.Check out the HM note,I think there is something
    there about it.
    
    
                                             Staynz

    Eeeee! Crippling disease?! Like what? Aw man, that sucks!
    
                                   trickey(who feels bad for him) :^(
    

    -1
    Lou Gehrig's (sp?) disease!

    Really? Bum deal x 1000.
    

    
    Is DLH's guitarists the same St. brothers that Ted Nugent use back in
    the 80s?
    
    Chuck

    Who's DLH?
    
    By the way, the new album comes out in eight or nine days, so you can 
    expect a completely biased review from me about then. :^)
    
                                    trickey(who hasn't heard "poundcake" on
                                            the radio for a week and is
                                            going through withdrawal)
    

    
    
    DLH? I don't know?  I meant Dave Lee Roth.  Don't like him anyway, but
    I was wondering if the guitarists he's using are the same guys the Nuge
    used a ways back, as if the Nuge needed anybody else out there with
    him.
    
    Chuck

<<	as if the Nuge needed anybody else out there with    him.
    
    
    as if anyone standing within 5 feet of the man would-a left the 
    stage alive anyway....

     I believe his name's Derek St.Holmes....also made an lp
    with Brad Whitford whilst the rest of Aerosmith was on
    vacation at the betty ford clinic.
    -Bill
    

    
    
    That's him.  There are three of four St. Holmes brothers. I saw them
    with the Nuge in Providence about 10 years ago when I was a mere child. 
    I was five rows from the stage and I tell you I was deaf for two weeks
    after that show.  The St. Holmes brothers were all into weightlifting
    at the time and it was kind of a novelty to see Ted out there with all
    these musclehead brothers and everyone had a guitar with the volumne
    turned up to, you know, 11 or something. I remember them with Brad W.
    too. I was wondering what happened to those guys...
    
    Chuck
    
    

    Who ever it was playing with DLR they did not play very much Steve Vai
    stuff and when they did,it didn't seem to be as correct as I would've
    expected.
    
    
    
    
    
                                                   Staynz

    I'm surprised I havent seen any mention that Eddie has dumped Kramer
    and plays an Ernie Ball now. It looks like a bolt on maple neck,
    mahogany body with quilted maple top, 2 hummers, a selector switch and 1
    knob.
    But of course I see little of what goes on.
    Toe

    To finally get back to the main point of this note: does anyone have
    the album yet? It has been out for two days now, so if you have it,
    talk about it! Let's hear some record reviews!
    
    I recorded what I could off of WAAF's broadcast of the album, and I
    liked most of what I heard (in between the djs gibbering over all the
    songs), although I think this is very different from what they did just
    two records ago (5150). I think they should have stuck to that style,
    or at least cranked up the guitar to the obnoxious level, instead of 
    the listen-real-hard-for-it level they have on the new album (IMHO).
    
    Oh well, it's against my religion(Eddieism) to rag on anything Van Halen
    for too long. :^)
    
    trickey
      
    

    I taped the interview, and then made another tape of just the songs.  I
    thought the guitar was VERY much out in front.  I can't find the CD
    here yet - supposedly it should be at the stores by the weekend ...
    
    Scary

    I bought it, and while I've only listened to it twice, there really
    wasn't anything that "stuck".  Right now, I'm very dissapointed with
    it.
    
    I liked 5150, but OU812 left me cold and I suspect so will this one.
    
    One thing that seems to be lacking in the last two albums is any
    "charisma" in Eddie's playing.  Usually I can tell him from an
    "Eddie-wanna-be".  Either the Eddie-wanna-be's are getting better
    or Eddie's getting worse.
    
    Can't tell you much I would LOVE to say that his album blew me away,
    but it simply doesn't do anything for me.
    
    What can I say: I miss David Lee Roth.  I like HIS latest MUCH better.
    It has "charisma".

    Of what I've heard there s not much, but I'd like to blow up Eddie's
    rack with some nitro.
     His guitar sound  ( not playing but sound ) is , to me also,
    rather indistinguishable  from the mass of other popular artists.
    
    With just a guitar and no rack it would sound alot better, IMHO.
    
    

    I caught a review of the new album in a music magazine here in the UK
    and they were less than impressed with it.Think they gave it 2 out of
    5.I also heard a song from the album called "on top of the world(?)",
    it was ok.

    I bought the CD Saturday ... and it's been spinning non-stop since
    then.  Before I give my `review' of it, I know eveyone won't feel the
    same way about it.  Enjoy ...  8^)
    
    There are several songs with `radio' written all over them ... those
    being `Poundcake', `Top Of The World', and `The Dream Is Over'. 
    There's only 1 song with heavy keyboards (`Right Now'), but by heavy, I
    mean "heavy", almost along the same lines as `The Cradle Will Rock'. 
    This could also be another radio contender.  `Judgement Day' is a
    balls_to_the_walls rocker ... I can't get enough of this tune ! 
    `Spanked' is pretty stupid, but I can see where it would be a good
    excuse for a bass solo in concert.  `Pleasure Dome' starts off with
    some talking under the music, sounds a LOT like DLR.  `Runaround', `In
    and Out', and `Man On A Mission' are pretty generic rockers, but they
    kick pretty well.  `316', which is an instrumental should/could have
    been a lot longer ... it's a little 3 chord wonder with a few minor
    twists, pretty tame for Eddie's standards.  
    
    Eddie's still a hot player (IMHO, before the flames come in ...), but
    his EXCELLENT rhythm playing shine through on this CD.  I think since
    *everybody* started tapping after he got it rolling, they overlook all
    his other talents.  
    
    I made a tape of this CD and put `OU812' on the other side, and
    there's a BIG change for the better.  BUT, if you can't stand VanHalen
    with Hagar, this CD won't budge you much - if you tolerated the new
    line-up, you'll probably like this.
    
    Scary (who likes the attitude of this band ...)

    Yay Scary! You tell 'em! (Where I come from, it's illegal to give VH a
    bad review!)
                                     Ok, so it's not *really* illegal,
                                                       Trickey
    
                                              
    
                                             

    
    Did someone tell VH that they have to pack a song as tightly as
    possible?  The songs I've heard from the new album don't have any
    "space" in them, if that's the term for it.  The instruments are so
    compressed that I don't really hear guitar, bass, and drums.  Instead,
    it's like listening to one multi-voiced instrument.
    
    It's only MHO but I'd like it a lot more if the VH guys listened
    closely to their first album before going into the studio! 

    
    	Well, I guess y'all can call me shit-fer-brains cuz I like like
    	the new VH!  Actually, I like it the best of the Van Hagars.
    	Sure I like VH 1, Mean Streets, and I'm sure some others better,
    	but c'mon, Van Halen 1 came out 12 years ago (or so)!

    
    I like lots of the newer VH songs, it's the production that I don't
    really like! 
    
    Kevin
     

    Yup, it's processed and cluttered at times ... but to me that gives it
    a `big' sound.  Sammy commenting on the radio interview that Eddie was
    `intro_man', meaning all hsi songs had these long intro.  He also noted
    that Eddie's keyboard tunes didn't leave much room to sing on.
    
    I like the new one ... but then again, I put peanut butter on my
    waffles too.
    
    Scary (who's been know to eat peanut butter/mayonaise/banana samiches) 

    It used to be that when a new Van Halen cd came out, I would buy it
     without hearing it first. Not after this CD. It sounds overproduced
     and very generic. Come back to the band Dave, they need you bad!

    No ... Dave needs to stay where he is !  I can live with the new VH a
    LOT easier than I can the new DLR (must admit, Eat 'Em and Skyscrapper
    were hot !!!).  
    
    Even if Dave was to come back, it wouldn't sound like `the good old
    days' ... no way.
    
    Scary

    Maybe Dave would drag Eddie out of his fantasy clubhouse long enough
     for him to evolve his style instead of the same old riffs. Check out
     the interview/story on Eddie in a recent musician mag.

    
    
    	I would still buy the CD whether or not DLR was in it.  
    	Although I _generally_ liked DLR vocals, I don't think he 
    	made or broke the band's sound.  I just think EVH is happier 
    	without the ego-maniac's bullshit.  From the articles, I've
    	read (not recently) Sammy has his head screwed on ok which 
    	has got to help out with the band's stability and outlook.  
    	I tend to be more of the loyal type of fan, and I'll hang with
    	them as long as they don't sell out.  That's right, I don't
    	believe Eddie has sold out yet.
    
    	JMO,
    	-pat  

     SAMMY'S making them more generic, H*ll , some bands and Eddie wanna
    be's sound better than Spinal tap mach II ( oops...Van Halen Mack II )
    
    
                   IMHO                   B*)

    Think about it ... what used to be `nasty Heavy Metal' is now a LOT
    more accepted.  I mean, when you hear OZZY on a radio station down here
    in SC, you know the times they are a changin'.  I'd put the new VH in
    the same category (since EVERYTHING *must* have a category) with
    Warrant, Slaughter, BonJovi, etc.  Rockers, yes.  Talent, yes. 
    Marketability, yes.  Is that a crime ?  In the *business* of making
    music, it would take a fool to go out of their way NOT to appeal to the
    spending public.  How much that desire compromises your music is yet
    another story.  I don't feel that VH has compromised a bit with their
    last 3 efforts with Sammy.  It's a different sound for sure, but it was
    a BIG change for them.  A change for the better ?  We have different
    opinions for sure ...
    
    Scary

    
    Not to resurrect the old DLR vs. Sammy argument, but...
    
    In the Calendar insert of Thursday's (June 27) Boston Globe,
    DLR was interviewed.  It was a very brief piece, but the writer
    asked Dave if he would *ever* work with Van Halen again.
    
    Apparently the relaxed Roth said that he hadn't "talked to the
    guys in, literally, years" but he said he wasn't opposed to the
    idea and thought it "might be a lot of fun."
    
    Good enough for me.  I kinda liked the "Hollywood" DLR brought to
    the band...the colors, the choreography, and perhaps most importantly,
    the *HUMOR*.
    
    It amde me sick when Sammy and Co. spent that first tour calling a
    Dave an asshole, etc. from the stage....and holding up sheets painted
    with vile inscriptions- that the audience supposedly brought in.
    No class.
    
    Egomaniac that he is (and what lead singer isn't, btw), Roth never
    slagged those guys from the stage, or in print. 
    
    I think he is a bit more of a workaholic than the other VH members,
    who seem to be 'holics of a different kind.  If you know what I mean.
    
    Let's face it, when the accountants call these guys up and tell them
    they need a strong payday, you'll see a reformation.
    
    
    JMHO,
    
    Brian
    

    While I agree that Eddie and the boys sound a lot different than when
    they had Dave, I still like them because I think their basic attitude
    is still the same. They may not be as nuts as they were with Dave, but 
    they're still making some good music.
    Even though their songs have become more commercial on the last three
    albums, I don't consider them to be selling out. I mean, really -have
    they sunk as low as Warrant and Slaughter? Do they have a 1-900 line?
    I just think that they're making good songs that also have popular 
    appeal. :^)
    
    trickey 

    
    
    According to Eddie & company, the title was originally related to
    Tipper Gore and the idiots that want to label LPs according to their
    perceptions of the contents.  They toned it down to the current words
    which are derived from police terminology...
    
    But you already knew that, right???
    
    

    RE:  Police Terminology ...
    
    ... nope, that's where `5150' came from.
    
    The title is the full description of what was later to become the slang
    word, I don't think I need to write it here ... WTF ...  8^)
    
    
    Scary

    
    
    
    	So, Scary what does 5150 mean?? What does it allude to???
    
    
    Gree Vee

    5150 is a police code for the criminally insane.

    Re: -1
    
    spoken like a true fan!

>     <<< Note 2214.53 by RAVEN1::JERRYWHITE "Rebel without applause ..." >>>
>
>    RE:  Police Terminology ...
>    
>    ... nope, that's where `5150' came from.
    
    Scarymon, I was just about quoting Eddie from an interview with the
    group on VH-1 or M-TV (can't remember which).  5150 is the California
    Cop Code for a person endangering himself or others.  (I have first
    hand familiarity with this one...)
    
    

    I thought you said the title of the NEW album came from police code ?
    
    Maybe I misunderstood ...
    
    
    Scary